7/19/17

The best friends are those who can tickle your brain, make you laugh, have a great sense of humor, are witty, just have the right dose of sarcasm and are critically honest yet remain kind.

You volley back and forth ideas and engage in intellectual fencing, agreeing, or opposing without rending or wounding each other. You are both thoughtful without being morose, and silly without being foolish. You may opine upon and critique a range of ideas or persons without engaging in calumny.

Between you, honesty is not negotiable and loyalty is standard. Trust is the tie that binds. You share that which matters the most. Caring glues you together. You laugh together, a lot. You watch out for each other, catch each other when you fall.

You may be in each other's company, yet remain taciturn. You spend time away from each other without weakening your bond. You may be near together yet allow yourselves to wander silently in your own minds, thinking, reading, meditating. You are never bored with one another because neither of you are boring.

You are renaissance women. You create, you fix, you solve, you lead. You are present. Many people go through life looking for such friends. If you find even just one, you have more than enough. It took you a long time to get where you are. Keep each other.

2/6/17

Goodbye my darling friend. Your wise and kind words echo in my mind. They comfort and warm my heart. You have taught me many things and you made me a better person. Thank you for the lessons. I will always love you. Sleep now my dearest Arija. You have finished your journey here on earth. Rest in peace my beloved friend. Tsup! Tsup!

5/29/16

Three days after I published my last post, my brother Ernesto passed away on February 29th, 2016. He died on the Leap Day of the Leap Year. It's been a sad spring since he left. My brother was an electrical engineer, mathematician, code developer, a much beloved mathematics professor, who loved photography, plants and trees. His Python programs and recipes are used in research and several university curricula in the US, South Korea, Sweden and Australia as well as his works in Physics. His thesis in crystallography have been cited by NASA, MIT and Stanford University. He loved to travel to record the many species of plants, flowers and trees of the Philippines. He was a gentleman, good and kind, a loyal friend and most loving brother. He was my childhood playmate. I miss him terribly. I think of him every day.

I started this drawing a week before he passed away. We visited each other's Facebook pages and exchanged comments while I drew this picture. It took me a long time to finish this drawing, perhaps because I did not want to let go. I finally illustrated him doing his favorite pastime - photographing plants and then waving goodbye. Rest in peace Toto Ernesto. I love you.

"Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy."